Bravo has dropped Below Deck Mediterranean star Nathan Gallagher after the 28-year-old Irish reality TV personality fled Australia rather than face court over a violent attack on his co-star and former girlfriend.
Gallagher left Australia before he was due to appear in court in New South Wales over the assault on Gael Cameron, 29, the mother of his infant son and a fellow cast member on the yachting series. News of the attack, which happened last Boxing Day, only became public last week, after being kept secret for nine months since his arrest.
In a statement to Rolling Stone magazine, Gallagher said no one should judge him because they had not "heard the full story surrounding what happened."
Cameron turned up to give evidence at court on Tuesday, supported by two companions believed to be family members. There was no sign of Gallagher.
What the court heard
Police facts tendered to the court alleged that Gallagher tried to strangle and suffocate Cameron, aggressively asphyxiating her while straddling her and blocking her from breaking free.
When Gallagher failed to appear as legally required, Judge Janine Lacy convicted him in his absence, without his side of the story being heard, and issued a warrant for his arrest. Two days later, Bravo confirmed he had been dropped.
"Bravo does not plan on working with Nathan in the future," a Bravo spokesperson said in a statement.
Career on Below Deck Mediterranean
Gallagher has appeared in the three most recent seasons of Below Deck Mediterranean as a superyacht bosun, a senior deckhand role responsible for overseeing a boat's crew and equipment, including the season that began airing in June. Because production on that season wrapped before his arrest and charges in December, Bravo has no plans to remove him from episodes already broadcast.
The network is understood to have cut ties with Gallagher after Tuesday's court proceedings and confirmation that he was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant. His police mugshot was published online on Wednesday, a day after he was convicted in his absence.
Bail conditions questioned
Gallagher's bail conditions did not require him to surrender his passport or bar him from approaching an international point of departure, despite this being standard practice in New South Wales for accused people with overseas ties.
Court records show Gallagher entered into a bail undertaking on December 28 requiring him to be of good behaviour and not approach Cameron or any prosecution witness. The conditions also barred him from drinking alcohol or taking drugs, required him to comply with an apprehended violence order, and obliged him to notify police of any change of address. None of the conditions required him to remain in Australia.
"It's a standard bail condition," a legal source said. "If they've got a passport and ties to another country, you would think the prosecution would have asked that the court take this into consideration."
NSW Police referred inquiries about the lack of a travel ban to the courts, which provided details of Gallagher's bail arrangements.
The charges and the attack
Judge Lacy convicted Gallagher in his absence of three offences: assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault, and intentionally choking a person without consent.
The police facts accepted by Judge Lacy as proven state that the couple's six-month-old child was lying beside Cameron during the attack, and that she cried out in fear and pain whenever Gallagher was not suffocating her to the point she couldn't make a noise. The assault took place at the couple's Sydney apartment on Boxing Day night last year.
Gallagher, described in court as "currently offshore," would be taken into custody immediately if he returned to or was extradited to New South Wales, and could face additional charges for allegedly breaching his bail. He was granted bail after spending a night in police custody on December 27.
Warrants in two countries
Gallagher has not yet been made the subject of an Interpol Red Notice, an international wanted notice for criminally active offenders, but live arrest warrants have been issued for him in two countries.
Court proceedings this week revealed the second warrant relates to Ireland, issued in April last year, after Gallagher failed to appear in court there to face a charge of assaulting a man and causing him harm.
If he returns to Australia, Gallagher is likely to be refused bail while awaiting sentencing and faces penalties of up to five years' imprisonment for each of the choking and assault offences.
Asked about the date of Gallagher's departure from Australia, the Department of Home Affairs said it could not comment on individual cases. It added that all visa holders must continue to meet legislated requirements in Australia, including character and security criteria, and that where the department becomes aware a visa holder no longer meets the character criteria, it takes appropriate action which may include visa cancellation.
